This breakfast briefing will take a look at the outlook for the risk reduction market - looking in particular at how schemes can best prepare to conduct an insurance transaction, capacity in the market as well as the key factors that are likely to affect both pricing and demand.

Professional Pensions Investment Conference has gathered a great following and is a widely respected event which brings together senior decision makers within public and private sector pension schemes.

So far, DC plans have largely been focused on the onset of auto-enrolment and changes to the regulatory framework - be it the ‘charge cap,' ‘pension freedoms' or consultations around ‘value for money', says Annabel Tonry, Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM).

In 2015 George Osborne, then the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, decided that those age over 55 could take much more of their pension in cash. This has since opened up a range of possibilities for DC scheme members in the world of pensions.

New Star opens fund to investors

UK - New Star Asset Management is opening its long/short New Star Japan Hedge Fund to new pension fund investors.

The fund consists of 80 stock positions and has about US$19m of seed money. Since its launch on July 31, the fund has returned 5.4%, compared to a 10% fall in the MSCI Japan Index and a 3.5% drop in the CSFB/Tremont long/short index.

Meanwhile, New Star Investment is launching its first bond fund later this month.

The New Star High Yield Bond Fund, which will be managed by James Gledhill, will have gross estimated income and redemption yields of 7% and 6.8% a year respectively.